$2 NL HE 6-max: Jacks again - but as a bluff catcher

puzzlefish

puzzlefish

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Another 888 Snap fast fold gem.

BTN 61.5bb
SB (Hero) 98bb
BB 99bb
UTG 175.5bb
HJ 100bb
CO 139bb

Hero has :jd4::jh4:

UTG folds
HJ opens 2bb
CO calls
BTN folds
Hero...?

...is still not raising large enough, 3bets to 5bb

BB folds

HJ calls
CO calls

Flop
:2h4::9s4::6s4:
Pot: 16bb

Hero...?

...feels that the overpair needs some protection and wants to get some value from drawing hands. Hero bets 8bb.

HJ calls
CO calls

Turn
:2h4::9s4::6s4::qd4:
Pot: 24bb

Hero...?

... isn't particularly happy with the Q, considering checking back but that will offer most of villains' range a free card to realize their equity on the river. Hero bets 16bb.

HJ folds
CO calls

River
:2h4::9s4::6s4::qd4::8c4:
Pot: 64bb

Hero...?

Feels like most likely CO bricked here. Is it best to bet or farm for a bluff? If hero checks, it can look like a bricked flush but what hands does hero beat if villain bets?

Hero checks.

CO bets 23bb

Hero...?
 
Last edited:
puzzlefish

puzzlefish

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Bumping in case anyone overlooked this.

I am thinking initial 3bet should have been closer to 12bb. I also don't think I should raise the river. Nothing worse will just call me.
 
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Station_Master

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Yeah your 3bet is too small.
As played i think you have to call the river for this price and hope to be against a busted draw. Villain shouldnt really have mich Qx unless its qx of spades
 
monkeytilter

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Deffo 3 bet bigger at least 7.5bb, more if you have seen the table/player is cally.

I prefer blocking betting the turn and river (folding to raise) to exploit too much calling at this level.

Bit of a cry call as played, you only need to be good 25% of the time but not sure villains finding enough bluffs here at 1c/2c - though they can make polarisation errors (overplays)

Did you have any reads on the villain? I guessing you called, what did they show you? (Will laugh if 78s)
 
monkeytilter

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Yeah your 3bet is too small.
As played i think you have to call the river for this price and hope to be against a busted draw. Villain shouldnt really have mich Qx unless its qx of spades
Plenty of off suit overs continue here in these games, so villain can still show up with AQo, KQo, QJo, QTo (ok we block QJ but still possible.)
 
primrose

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I did forget! Thanks for reminding me.

Preflop: yo, so you said "still not betting large enough", comparing it to your last hand. But in your last hand, the 3bet sizing was an inaccuracy. This time it's a blunder (in chess terminology of inaccuracy/mistake/blunder). You're out of position, and also exploitatively, Jacks is a hand that really doesn't want to go multiway. The standard sizing for OOP is 4x, with an intermediate caller it would be 5x, and exploitatively I'd size up a little, so a reasonable sizing here would be 11BB. Betting 5BB is really not where it's at.

Flop: in general, you shouldn't bet 50%. 50% is rarely the correct size. Now granted it's not obvious here how large you should bet and maybe 50% is actually reasonable, but as a habit, don't bet 50%.

I think probably I want to bet bigger here. Your hand is just very vulnerable, equity protection is a big factor here. This will telegraph to your opponents what you have, but it's super low stakes, so I assume they won't take advantage of it. Maybe just over 60% Pot, a little below 2/3.

Turn: Both players called you. Gross. But actually it doesn't make a lot of sense for them to have the Q, so betting is reasonable. But 2/3 is way too big. No worse hand is going to call 2/3 here. You should bet 1/3 at most. Draws don't have as much equity here and a Q is never folding, so the large size doens't make a lot of sense.

River: well I just said no worse hand will ever call this big of a Turn raise and you got called, so you're most likely behind now.

... but the price is so good that I'm calling anyway. Who knows what he does. maybe it's TT. Or A8. With the WTF factor of this entire hand and the price, I'm not getting away. But you shouldn't have gotten here like this.
 
puzzlefish

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I didn't remember to take a screenshot of the showdown, I did end up calling, and I was good this time - villain had something obscene, 9x, like 93o or 94o - so I was quite relieved that it worked out but yeah, the betting sizes were off from the start.
 
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Plenty of off suit overs continue here in these games, so villain can still show up with AQo, KQo, QJo, QTo (ok we block QJ but still possible.)
These hands are an easy flop fold, but sure bad opponents could have them its 2NL after all!
 
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fundiver199

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Preflop
As others have said this is a silly small almost "click it back" sizing. The standard out of position is 4x and then you add the cold call, which makes it 5x or 10BB. However here I would size up even more, because its just a min-raise, which I entreprete as weak in a microstakes cash game. Also as others have said, JJ wants protection.

Flop
C-bet is fine. While half pot is rarely used in GTO, I dont think, that really matter at 2NL, but even here you could have sized up a bit.

Turn
When both guys call on the flop, and the turn is an overcard, I would check and evaluate. In theory the Q should not hit them to much, but its 2NL, so I think, they are still calling with at least AQ and maybe even KQ or worse.

River
Now you have definitely run out of value, so the play is to check and evaluate. And for this sizing I call. You still beat busted flushdraws and some random stuff, and you only need to be good 1 in 5 times.
 
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